A Research On The Relationship Between Shelley And The Bible

Percy Bysshe Shelley, one of the famous representatives of romantic poetry in England in the early 19th century, created a multitude of poetry, prose, stories and drama during his short life, which exert a far-reaching influence on subsequent generations. There have been innumerable studies made on Shelley both in China and abroad. But people have yet a long way to go to reach an all-round understanding of this poet, due to their failure to recognize Shelley's relation with Christianity and the Bible in one way or another. Worse still, there are even fewer studies in China with respect to Shelley's relation with Christianity and the Bible. The present dissertation, which is orientated in the perspective of Christianity and the Bible, attempts an analysis of the close relationship between Shelley's works and Christianity and the Bible to shed light on how Christianity and the Bible are embodied in Shelley's works, and how they are assimilated and deviated by this poet. It is expected that this dissertation will open a new window into the Shelley studies in China.This dissertation is composed of three parts: the introduction, the body and the conclusion.In the introduction, the author first gives a brief account of Shelley's life and his works, and then devotes large space to the domestic and international review of Shelley's works. In this connection the author points out the significance of this dissertation written in the unique perspective of Shelley's relation with Christianity and the Bible.The body consists of four sections, which expound the considerable influence of Christianity and the Bible on Shelley from different angles, in a progressive, step-by-step manner. Sectionâ… is devoted to an introduction of the relevant background knowledge and religious spirit found in writers in general. This section mainly discusses the political, economic and cultural background in Shelley's age and the relationship between the 19th century British literature (with particular reference to poetry) and the Bible. Starting from Shelley's life and his relationship with the Bible, the dissertation outlines the history in which Shelley was inextricably bound up with the Bible and further illustrates the particularity of this relationship, i.e. how Christianity and the Bible are realized in Shelley's eyes.Sectionâ…¡involves the exploration of the factual connections between Shelley's works and the Bible as well as the biblical archetypes found in his works. In this section, the author first employs the theory of the influence study of comparative literature to explore, in the light of textual research, the concrete factual relations between Shelley's works and the Bible, hence demonstrates Shelley's connection with the Bible by virtue of concrete facts. Then the author makes full use of the theory of myth-archetypal criticism to initiate an in-depth exploration of the embodiment of biblical archetypes in Shelley's works from the aspects of imagery and figures, so as to illustrate Shelley's transcendence over and innovations from the Bible to bring to light the influence of the Bible on Shelley.Sectionâ…¢is concerned with the biblical conception and theological thinking in the text of Shelley's works. In this section the author, issuing from such planes as prophetic and Gospel thinking, probes into the biblical thoughts impregnated in Shelley's works to demonstrate the profound influence exerted by the Bible on Shelley. Then the author, by employing Christian doctrine and theological thoughts, illustrates Shelley's understanding of Christian theology and its specific embodiment in Shelley's works from respective planes of the outlooks on Cosmos, God and after-life. In addition, the author contemplates Shelley's unique employment of the Bible in this section.Sectionâ…£deals with Shelley's conception in the light of hermeneutics. Based on such Shelley's works as Essay on Christianity, this section discusses Shelley's understanding and interpretation of Christianity in the theoretical framework of hermeneutics.The conclusion summarizes the author's argumentation that Shelley has been influenced considerably in his literary creation by Christianity and the Bible and vice versa. Clarifying the relationship between Shelley and Christianity enables us to achieve further understanding of Shelley and his works.